


Piloting Tips

by metblink



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, a little humor, hunk learns to appreciate himself, overall heartwarming, some flirting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-11
Updated: 2017-08-11
Packaged: 2018-12-14 00:46:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11771952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/metblink/pseuds/metblink
Summary: Allura placed her shaking hands onto the handles of the Blue lion, and felt it rumble against her palms. The metal cooled her skin and made her shiver.Activating it in the dire times that she did wasn’t helpful to her team when they were ambushed by Lotor. She knew she was a sloppy and uncoordinated pilot, and she needed to hone her skills.That’s why she was here, sitting in the stale air of what was supposed to be “her” lion.“Hey, Allura?”“Oh! Uh, hello Hunk.” Allura nearly jumped out of her seat upon hearing Hunk’s voice.“Do you know that we can all hear you on the castle’s comms?” Hunk scratched the back of his head.Allura turned back around and saw both of their reflections in Blue’s eyes. How long had she been shaking like this? She was a paladin of Voltron now. There wasn’t time for hesitation or modesty. All of her team knew how afraid she was. They had heard her hyperventilate, heard her cry. And even though she has been in Blue for the last five hours, nothing has changed. She is still just Princess Allura.





	Piloting Tips

**Author's Note:**

> This was a prompt given to me from Cherry in the Voltron Discord!  
> Enjoy~

_ Okay, Allura. Now isn’t the time for failure. They need you. Your people needed you then. The universe needs you now. Just take a deep breath, yup that’s right, hold it, and let go. Just let go. _

Allura placed her shaking hands onto the handles of the Blue lion, and felt it rumble against her palms. The metal cooled her skin and made her shiver.

Activating it in the dire times that she did wasn’t helpful to her team when they were ambushed by Lotor. She knew she was a sloppy and uncoordinated pilot, and she needed to hone her skills. 

That’s why she was here, sitting in the stale air of what was supposed to be “her” lion. 

She assumed that the reason why she’d been so disconnected with Blue was the fact that, unlike the castle’s piloting controls, you have to connect your soul to the lions. The bond between a paladin and a lion is indescribable, and it can’t be done easily. She just had to crack some sort of code. Say something that might trigger Blue. Maybe even  _ be _ more like Lance. 

God, she hoped not.

“Hey, Allura?”

“Oh! Uh, hello Hunk.” Allura nearly jumped out of her seat upon hearing Hunk’s voice. 

“Do you know that we can all hear you on the castle’s comms?” Hunk scratched the back of his head.

Allura turned back around and saw both of their reflections in Blue’s eyes. How long had she been shaking like this? She was a  _ paladin of Voltron _ now. There wasn’t time for hesitation or modesty. All of her team knew how afraid she was. They had heard her hyperventilate, heard her cry. And even though she has been in Blue for the last five hours, nothing has changed. She is still just Princess Allura. 

“Hunk, I’m sorry, I just don’t think...I think someone else was meant to pilot the Blue lion.”

Hunk walked toward her seat and rested his arm across it. “Aw, come on Allura. You know we all believe in you. We wouldn’t have been outside camping if we didn't.”

Allura met Hunk’s eyes. “What? Why were you all waiting for me? You know I can handle this on my own.” 

“Y-yes of course, but you know,” Hunk stood in front of her to get her attention, “it isn’t bad to ask for help every now and then.”

Allura looked at her feet, her eyebrows turning up. She felt tears starting to trickle their way out of her eyes.

“Allura…”

Hunk kneeled down and tilted his head up, trying hard to see her eyes or her expression. Allura met his behavior with a sharp turn of her head. Hunk recognized this. He had been here before. Back in the Garrison when he did his first flight test. Back when the Yellow Lion first accepted him. 

It was crippling self-doubt. And that was too scary a place for anyone to venture to alone. Especially someone as kind hearted as she was. 

“Here, let me help you.”

Hunk got up from his position and leaned against the side of Allura’s seat. He could see her knuckles turning white from her grip on the console. Her face had regained some color since he entered Blue, but he had to keep up this momentum.

“I’m gonna guide you through this, is that alright?” Hunk’s hands hovered over hers on the metal handles. He was trying desperately to get some sort of eye contact.

Allura only nodded. “Y-yes of course, Hunk.”

Hunk felt her shiver as he shifted the cat’s controls and their hands to their original position. Allura had her eyes closed even though he didn’t tell her to close them. He assumed that she was trying to talk with Blue.

“Is she sayin’ somethin?” Hunk felt himself sweat. 

“No, sadly.” Allura moved both of their hands and the gears as far as they would go. Blue only seemed to hate this even more. She was rumbling, but made no sound.

Allura hit her helmet back against the seat in frustration and startled Hunk. He somehow managed to keep their hands held together even though Allura had started to pull away. Something was telling him that it was working, even though Hunk had never seen her this stressed before.

“Come on, Blue.” Allura started to whisper, “We can do this. Let me lead you.”

Blue sent some sort of shock through the controls right as those words left her mouth and both of their hands were burned from gripping the handles.

“No, No I won’t  _ allow _ you to-” Allura was nearly screaming at the lion now and Hunk swore he felt all of her pent up anger, sadness and frustration pass through her hands and into his. It was too much, and he sensed Blue right there with them. Allura wasn’t the only one suffering from their lack of communication. Blue was just as lonely as she was.

“Wait, Wait!” Hunk had to shout over her voice to get her attention. And finally there they were. Her cool colored eyes were  _ right _ there. Looking and examining, just like they always had in the castle, during missions, when they first met. It was clear that he had to use these empathetic feelings and  _ act _ . Just say  _ something _ for god-sakes. 

“Just give up.”

Allura furrowed her eyebrows. “ _ What _ ?”

Hunk relaxed his hands and crossed them into his arms. “I think you’re trying... _ too _ hard.”

Allura realized how tense she had become in her seat and went back to the posture she used when she acted as the  _ Diplomat of Voltron. _ Hunk was slightly disappointed that she felt the need to act like this in front of him. That she wouldn’t allow her guard to be down for one second. But he understood why.

She took three deep breaths, just like her father had always told her to do when she got anxious. Hunk recognized this common ritual of hers and waited patiently for a response. 

“You’re right.” Allura sank back into her seat.

“I’m  _ right _ ?”

She laughed. “Yes, why does your face look so red all of a sudden?”

“U-Uh no one really tells me that, like, ever. I’m the ‘nervous, foodie, puke-guy’, remember?”

“Oh, Hunk.” Allura stood up and embraced him. “You shouldn’t think of yourself that way. You’re an irreplaceable part of this team. Just you being here with me is more help than you know.”

Hunk was frozen. “T-Thank you, Princess.”

“Now.” Allura grabbed Hunk’s shoulders. “Let’s try this again.”

Hunk and Allura got back into their positions on the handles and started again, first with simple maneuvers and then with weapons controls. 

“I think this time, you really need to stop thinking about your duty to us as a leader.”

Allura was pleasantly surprised at Hunk’s assertiveness. His confidence seemed to really shine through when she saw him helping people. It made her heart warm.

Allura blushed. “What do you mean? I know it’s hard for me to let go of my sense of justice, but I’m really trying.” 

Hunk smiled. “I know. You wouldn’t be doing this right now, breaking a sweat, if you weren’t. But I think you really just need to believe that we’re here for you too. That this fight isn’t yours alone.”

Hunk watched her eyes close again and her muscles relax one by one. He slowly lifted his hands off of hers and watched as she shifted through the things they had practiced together. The lights inside of Blue seemed to be getting brighter.

Allura spoke out into the lion. “Blue, is that you?”

Blue roared and shook the cabin, Hunk could feel her in his mind too.

Hunk gasped. “Oh my god, Allura? Do you hear her?”

Allura’s face was priceless, her eyes were so bright. “Hunk I-I think she finally spoke to me. Did you hear her too?”

“No, but I feel her,” Hunk looked around the cabin at the blue lights surrounding them. “I think she missed you.” 

Now Allura’s eyes were following Hunk’s, admiring the magic that Blue was showing them. It was amazing to her that such a deep connection could happen from just one simple decision. The decision to let go and admit that she was weak and needed help. She was so lucky to have the paladins, and Hunk, by her side. What would she do without them?

Hunk lowered his head and started to follow the path out of Blue’s cabin. “Well, Allura, I’ll let you two have some privacy...I gotta go...uh, fix something.”

Allura stood up, which was the last thing Hunk wanted. “Wait, Hunk, I have to thank you for all you’ve done for me.”

Hunk started to walk faster as similar footsteps trailed behind him.

“Hunk, I know what you’re doing, why do you hate accepting gratitude so much?”

Allura nearly ran up to him, swinging him around to face her. Their stomps on the metal ramp were too loud, and the other Paladins waiting outside turned to see where the noise came from.

Hunk shoved his hands in his pockets. “Princess, you don’t owe me anything. People shouldn’t be rewarded for what’s expected of them.”

Hunk’s defeated tone resonated in Allura. She wasn’t sure where this negativity was suddenly coming from. Maybe Hunk was too often taken for granted. 

Allura stepped closer, afraid that the other paladins would hear. “Hunk, it’s not about owing. It’s about getting what you deserve.”

Allura then reached up on her tiptoes towards Hunk’s face and kissed his jaw. 

Hunk didn’t realize that his eyes were screwed shut out of nervousness, and the fists he had balled up in his pockets were dripping with sweat. 

Once he had opened his eyes again, Allura was already halfway towards her room, and there the other paladins sat, staring with their mouths open. His face flushed bright red, but there was no turning back now. He had to walk with pride. He had to accept that he could help people, and learn when to give himself credit. 

“Hey big guy!” Lance yelled from his seat. “I could feel your boots shaking all the way from here!”

Pidge snickered a little from behind her computer, and Keith giggled reluctantly while giving Lance a punch to the arm. Hunk walked closer to his friends, rubbing his arms.

“Uh, hey guys.”

“ _ Hey _ .” They all seemed to say in unison.

Hunk sat down with them and crossed his legs to save room. They had managed to make a fort out of blankets and pillows up against a steel beam, and were surrounded by packs of juice and pizza rolls. In a perfect universe, he would eat the pizza rolls, suck on some juice, and have a good night's sleep. But nah, things never worked out like that.

“So,” Pidge started, “Were you able to teach Allura a few things about piloting?”

Hunk shook his head and swallowed down some juice. “I didn’t have to. She knew it all along. If anything,  _ she _ was the teacher.”

Keith nearly spit out his juice. “Yeah Hunk, we all saw that part.”

“God Keith, no, I meant...well,” Hunk sighed and looked at the lights that filtered through the sheet over their heads. “I gotta convince myself that I can be a good person sometimes.”

The paladins suddenly stopped joking and were silent.

“Hunk, you’re a great person. You’re my best friend.” Lance reached over and offered up some pizza rolls. 

Pidge closed her computer, which would only happen in apocalypse and smiled at him. “Yeah Hunk, I wouldn’t be tolerant of anybody here if it wasn’t for you.”

“I really appreciate your acceptance, Hunk,” Keith said, probably referring to that horrible time he called him “Galra Keith.”

Hunk smiled and looked down at his lap. He hoped they understood how grateful he was to have them. 

“Wait, who’s that? Is that Coran?” Pidge peeked through the opening in their fort, probably referring to the footsteps they had heard while talking.

“Yeah,” Lance said, “I was wonderin’ that too.”

Not a beat later, someone else was poking their head through the opposite hole in the massive fort. “Hello everyone!” 

It was Allura, dressed in matching pink pajamas and blue lion slippers. Hunk wondered what she had to do to Lance to get  _ those _ . 

“Now whats all this talk about Hunk?” She sat down, making all of their positions form a star on the blanket. The other paladins seemed surprised that she had decided to join their little slumber party, and kept to themselves. 

Hunk spoke up before anyone could embarrass him again. “Ah nothin, princess. I was just telling them about how you taught me so much today.” 

Allura smiled at Hunk and giggled a bit, “That’s so nice of you. But don’t forget to take  _ some _ credit.” She grabbed a juice pack and daintily sipped on it, observing the other paladins.

Hunk knew that once everyone would start to drift off into their dreams tonight, some good, some bad, that he would be alright once he woke up with them. He would know that he did something good today. And that it was worth it, and that people recognized him for it.

Especially the girl that he might’ve, maybe, had a little, tiny, crush on.

**Author's Note:**

> find me on tumblr


End file.
